large ball, perfectly smooth except for tiny covered openings that might
have been repulsorjets or small targeting lasers.
Luke set the ball on the slanted, burned trunk; miraculously, it did not
roll down the slope, but remained exactly where he had placed it. He
withdrew another of the scarlet spheres, and another, and another.
"Remotes!" Jaina cried, guessing what they were.
"Those are remotes, aren't they, Uncle Luke? What are they for?"
"Target practice," he said. All four remotes sat balanced on the burned
Massassi trunk, refusing to roll, as if they could ignore gravity.
Lowbacca grunted with surprise, and Tenel Ka straightened. "We are going
to shoot at them?"
"No," Luke said. "They're going to shoot at you."
"And we deflect the shots with our lightsabers?"
Jacen asked.
"Yes," Luke said, "but it's not as easy as you might think."
"I never said I thought it would be easy," Jacen muttered.
Tenel Ka nodded. "A lesson to sharpen our LIGHTSABERS
^ reflexes and concentration. We must react quickly to intercept each
burst from the remotes."
"Ah, but it gets harder," Luke said. He reached into the sack again,
removed a flexible helmet with a transparisteel visor tinted a deep red,
and handed it to Tenel Ka. "You'll each wear these." He withdrew another
pair of helmets for the twins, but the last one consisted of only a red
visor fastened with crude tie-straps. "Sorry, Lowbacca, but I couldn't
find a helmet big enough for your head.
This will have to do."
Jacen slipped the helmet over his perpetually tousled brown hair and
suddenly saw the jungle through a scarlet filter. The thick forest held
a more primeval quality now, as if backlit with smoldering fires. The
details were duller, darker, and Jacen wondered what the helmet and
visor were supposed to do-protect them against stray shots from the
remotes? He looked over at where the bright red remotes had rested on
the burned tree trunk . . . or rather where they should have been.
Jacen blinked. "Hey, they're gone!"
"Not gone," Luke said. "Just invisible. When you look at the remotes
through the red filters, you can't see them anymore." Luke smiled.
"That's the point.
When Obi-Wan Kenobi taught me, he made me fight using a helmet with the
blast shield down. I couldn't see a thing. You'll at least be able to
see your surroundings . . . but not the remotes."
Jacen wanted to ask how he was supposed to fight what he couldn't see,
but he knew what Uncle Luke would say.
"I didn't want you totally blind," Luke continued, "because all four of
you will be training here in the clearing with different remotes. This
way you'll be able to see each other. I don't want anyone getting too
enthusiastic and causing injuries instead of just deflecting laser
bolts."
This brought a small chuckle from Jacen and Jaina, but Master Skywalker
looked at all of the trainees sternly. "I wasn't kidding," he said. "A
lightsaber can cut through practically any substance known-and that
includes people. Remember this warning: lightsabers are not toys. They
are dangerous weapons. Treat them with the utmost care and respect. I
hope that the time you each spent building your lightsaber has taught
you more about its power and its risks."
Luk-- picked up a set of controls. "Now let's see how well you work with
the Force and your own energy blades."
He flipped a switch, and Jacen heard a hissing, whiffing sound. But he
saw nothing until he pushed up the scarlet visor. The four remotes
drifted into the air, spinning around and scanning the vicinity.
"These lasers are low power," Luke said, "but don't think they won't
sting if you get hit by one."
Jacen muttered to his sister, "At least he's not LIGHTSABERS
^ throwing rocks or knives at us, like at the Shadow Academy."
"Visors down," Luke said. "Take your positions."
The companions spread out in the clearing, tramping down the weedy
underbrush.
"Ignite your lightsabers," Luke said, then sat back. He seemed to be
enjoying himself.
As one, the four Jedi trainees held out the handles of their new weapons
and depressed the power studs. Brilliant beams sprang out in the red
dimness, bright slashes the length of a sword blade burning through the
thick crimson in front of Jacen's eyes.
The tinted masks drained all other color from their lightsabers,
transforming them into glowing red rods. It reminded Jacen of Darth
Vader's weapon.
"The remotes are circling now," Luke said. "In the next thirty seconds
they'll begin to fire at random. Reach out with the Force. Feel them.
Sense the impending attack-then use your lightsaber blade to deflect it.
A lot of your training has been leading up to this. Let's see how well
you do."
Jacen tensed, holding his lightsaber ready. Much as he hated to admit
it, he drew upon some of the skills Brakiss had taught him at the Shadow
Academy. He felt the energy blade humming in his hand, pulsing with
power. The sharpness of ozone reached his nostrils. He heard his friends
moving about, preparing for an attack that could come from any
direction.
The buzzing lightsabers muted all other sounds, just as the red filter
drowned all other colors.
Suddenly Jacen heard a snapping shot, though he saw nothing. A loud
Wookiee yowl preceded the vibrating hum of a lightsaber blade sweeping
sideways and hitting nothing. Lowie roared again.
"Dear me, Master Lowbacca, that wasn't even close," Em Teedee exclaimed.
"I do hope you'll improve significantly with practice."
Lowie snarled, sounding hurt, and Em Teedee responded in a somewhat
cowed fashion, "Well, all right. I understand it's more difficult since
you can't see anything. . . . Even so, I should think it inadvisable to
allow it to strike you again."
Jacen's interest in the conversation vanished when a sizzling bolt shot
out from behind and struck him squarely on the backside. He yelped with
pain. The tiny wound burned as badly as if a stinger lizard had zapped
him. He whirled, slashing with the lightsaber, but by then it was too
late.
From across the clearing another bolt shot out, followed by a crash of
underbrush. Through the visor he saw Tenel Ka leap to one side. A branch
snapped in two as the invisible laser struck it where Tenel Ka had stood
only seconds before. The warrior girl crouched, holding her lightsaber
up, her head cocked in concentration.
Jacen reached out with his mind, trying to sense through the Force where
his remote would shoot
LIGHTSABERS
^ next. He heard two more laser blasts and then a spang as Jaina
successfully deflected one of the bolts. Jacen focused on the pain at
the spot where he had been struck by the laser, using it to intensify
his determination. He didn't want to be stung again.
Another laser beam shot out. He swiped the lightsaber at it, barely
missing-though his motion was enough to shift him out of its path so
that the beam sizzled past. He felt the warmth of its passage, but could
not see it.
"That was close," he said, then instinctively swung to strike again as
the remote fired once more.
Jaina parried a flurry of bolts as her remote attacked mercilessly,
firing five times in rapid succession. One of her bolts ricocheted off
the glowing edge of her lightsaber directly toward Jacen. He responded
without conscious thought, flowing with it, somehow using the Force and
knowing what to do as he shifted his own blade sideways just enough to
catch the diverted bolt. The deflected blast bounced up into the trees,
where it fried a fistful of leaves.
in a single follow-through motion, Jacen spun, reaching up with the
lightsaber blade to ward off a second bolt fired from the other remote
hovering in front of them.
Lowbacca bellowed with triumph as he, too, got the hang of defending
himself.
Except for her heavy breathing, Tenel Ka was quiet, thoughtful. Through
the red filter Jacen watchedas she parried one of the lasers and leaped
upward with all her might, using her lightsaber like a cleaver. A shower
of sparks erupted and a smoking hole appeared in midair. Jacen heard a
thunk as pieces of Tenel Ka's remote fell useless to the jungle floor.
"All right. That's enough for now," Luke Skywalker said."
Tenel Ka switched off her weapon and stood with her hands on her hips,
her elbows spread. Jacen flipped up his red visor to discover his own
remote hovering barely at arm's length in front of his face.
He stepped back, startled.
Tenel Ka's remote lay on the ground sliced in two, its circuits
flickering and sparking. Jaina and Lowie also shut off their weapons and
stood panting and grinning. Jacen rubbed the burning pain in his
backside and grimaced sheepishly, hoping none of the others would
notice.
"Excellent, all of you-except now it looks as if I'll need a new
remote," Luke said, smiling wryly at Tenel Ka. "You did very well with
the Force."
"Not only with the Force," she said, thrusting her chin upward and
squaring her shoulders. "I also used my ears to track the remote. When I
concentrated, I could hear it even above the sound of the lightsabers."
Luke chuckled. "Good. A Jedi should use all available skills and
resources."
LIGHTSABERS
^ Jaina gripped the lightsaber in both hands and positioned the
brilliant, electric-violet blade in front of her. She looked past the
searing line of controlled fire at Lowbacca, her opponent, who stood
opposite her, a lightsaber in his hairy grasp. He growled his readiness.
Jaina looked into the young Wookiee's golden eyes, saw the dark streak
of black fur swirling up from his eyebrow and around his head. She
swallowed and tensed. Though lanky, Lowbacca was much taller than she,
and Jaina knew he was about three times as strong. But in his furry
expression she saw an uncertainty, a genuine discomfort that mirrored
her own.
"Do I really have to fight Lowie, Uncle-uh, Master Skywalker?" Jaina
asked.
Luke Skywalker stood. "You're not fighting him, Jaina. You're fencing
with him. Test your opponent.
Gauge each other's skills. Learn to judge reactions.
Explore strategies. But be careful," Jaina thought of her training at
the Shadow Academy and how she and Jacen had dueled with lightsabers,
not realizing that they had fought each other in holographic disguise.
"Remember," Luke cautioned, "a Jedi fights only as a last resort. If you
are forced to draw your lightsaber, you have already forfeited much of
your advantage. A Jedi trusts the Force and at first seeks other ways to
resolve problems: patience, logic, tolerance, attentive listening,
negotiation, persuasion, calming techniques.
"But there are times when a Jedi must fight.
Knowing that the Shadow Academy is out there, I fear those times will
come all too often for us. And so you must learn how to wield your
lightsabers."
He stepped back and motioned to Jacen and Tenel Ka, who waited on the
edge of the clearing, sitting next to each other on the burned tree
trunk. "You two will be next. Jaina, don't worry about Lowie being so
much bigger and stronger than you are.
Dueling with a lightsaber is primarily skill, and I think you're equally
matched in that. Your one true disadvantage is that his reach is much
longer than yours. Unfortunately," Luke said with a sigh, ^circumstances
don't always pit us against equal opponents. As for you, Lowie, be
careful not to underestimate Jaina."
He dropped back to watch. "Now, show me what you can do."
"Well?" Jaina stepped forward, keeping her gaze locked with Lowie's.
"What are we waiting for?"
The Wookiee shifted his lightsaber, bringing its molten-bronze blade
into position. Jaina moved hers up to meet it, crossing her blade
against his. She felt the pressure, the sizzling of sparks, and the
discharge as the powerful beams drove against each LIGHTSABERS
^ other. She saw the muscles bulging in Lowie's long arms as he strained
against her-but Jaina held her own.
"All right, let's try something else." Jaina withdrew her lightsaber,
then swung it at her Wookiee friend slowly, cautiously-and Lowbacca met
it with another crackle of released energy.
Swinging to strike again, she said, "This isn't so bad."
Lowie defended himself. He seemed reluctant to do battle.
Knowing that Lowie had endured horrifying struggles at the Shadow
Academy-and remembering again that she had been forced to fight her own
brother-Jaina realized that Brakiss and the violeteyed Tamith Kai would
stop at nothing to bring down the New Republic. She and Lowie would both
be needed to defend against the Dark Jedi. She decided now that the best
way to rid Lowie of his reservations would be to go on the offensive.
And this time she did not feel strangled by darkness. Today Jaina fought
with full willingness, learning to be a defender of the light side, a
champion of the Force. Uncle Luke had been correct in his speech in
front of the Jedi trainees.
She knew in her heart that the Shadow Academy had only begun to cause
trouble, and she would have to fight to get her friend Zekk freed.
But first she had to learn how.
Lowbacca responded with greater strength, a better show of his
abilities, as he parried her blows and struck back with his own. She had
to move quickly to cross blades with him again. They clashed and struck.
Sparks flew.
Lowie spun and chopped down, but she met his lightsaber with hers,
smiling, intently focused. She heard Jacen cheering from the side.
"Excellent, Master Lowbacca!" Em Teedee said.
"Now do be careful-you wouldn't want a flying spark to damage me."
Jaina felt the Force flowing through her; Lowbacca wore an expression of
exhilaration on his furry face. He opened his mouth, showing fangs and
letting out a bellow of challenge-not mean or angry, simply an
outpouring of excitement.
Lowie gr
asped the handle of his large lightsaber with both hands and
swept sideways, attempting to catch Jaina by surprise-but she turned the
tables on him. Summoning a burst of energy, she astonished the Wookiee
by leaping high into the air up to the level of Lowie's head. His
lightsaber swept harmlessly beneath her, and she landed lightly on the
weed-covered ground behind him, laughing and panting.
"Oh my! That was most unexpected," Em Teedee said. "Splendid work,
Mistress Jaina."
"Hey, that was great, Jaina!" her twin brother called.
LIGHTSABERS
^ Lowie raised his lightsaber in salute. Jaina grinned, her eyes
gleaming.
"Most impressive," Luke said, turning to Jacen and Tenel Ka. "Next,
let's see how well our spectators can do." ------------------TENEL KA
HESITATED, rubbing her fingers along the ivory surface of the
rancor-tooth lightsaber handle. She held the deactivated weapon in front
of her, drawing deep breaths. Intent on her body, her surroundings, she
tightened her muscles and brought them to full readiness. Jungle sounds
f' tiled the clearing: the whisper of breezes ruffling leaves, the song
of insects, the flutter of birds in the canopy.
Lightsabers Page 4